Jak & Ratchet: The Lord of Light and Darkness
by Yon Troper
Summary: The Solana Galaxy and the New World are victims of a deadly plot for dominance, and amidst the chaos, two heroes must join forces to save the universe from a terrible fate...


CHAPTER 1: THE BATTLE OF METROPOLIS

"Gentlemen, I believe we have found the solution to achieving ultimate power."

"It all lies within this. Yes, the fabled Eco Core itself. We could use our powers to cross the universe. Manipulate this device, this so-called Great Clock, in this faraway galaxy."

"And then… then, all shall be ours. But we must deploy our weapon first…"

Ratchet was at peace.

It had been almost fifteen years since the battle at the Great Clock. His last adventures had been greater than anything he had ever faced before. The idea that the fate of the galaxy rested in his and Clank's hands was an unsettling one, and even though he had saved the Solana Galaxy once again, his adventures had left him drained. He never wanted to go tearing off across the galaxy to save it again. All he wanted was to settle down.

He and Clank settled in Metropolis. The summer after the incident at the Great Clock, he and Sasha had got married. Their son Philips was on his tour of duty as an ensign on the Starship Phoenix, and Ratchet returned to what he'd done before that little robot crash-landed on Veldin eight years ago – working as a humble spaceship mechanic. If he craned his neck above the top fin of the Blackwater G-Series Star Bug he was working on, he could just see the sign above his workshop – "Ratchet & Clank, Spaceship Repair".

Yes, he thought to himself, all that craziness in the past was behind him. Who'd want to go on all those adventures at his age? He had problems with the paparazzi in his first few years in Metropolis, but now they'd gone away. Nobody would ever hear of Ratchet as a hero again.

But as he should have known, it's almost never that simple.

Something was tearing through downtown Metropolis. Something that was unlike anything ever seen in the galaxy before. It was a gargantuan monster, nearly two hundred feet tall and mottled with patches of pink, grey, green, and purple. A glowing orb in a sickly shade of yellow was mounted in its ridged skull, and its eyes were the same shade. Its skin crackled with purplish lightning that struck out at the surrounding buildings at random. None of this was frightening, though. What was frightening was the array of robotic weapons that the monster was bristling with, and its elaborate rows of steel teeth and claws. Whatever this horror was, it was certainly going to be difficult to take down.

The monster had already done some serious damage. Those vicious talons ripped through buildings like they were made of paper, and thousands of people had disappeared into its gaping maw, swallowed up like popcorn. Whenever the monster opened its mouth, it dribbled foul black ooze, vapor pouring off it and drifting through the city. The ooze dissolved the people of Metropolis as soon as it touched them, and was lying around in great puddles. Soldiers were charging at the monster by the thousands and helicopters were firing round after round, but even the soldiers' R.Y.N.O. VII's had no effect on it, and all who attacked it were crushed under the monster's heavy tread, or dissolved by the black sludge, or picked up and swallowed whole.

Even from his workshop miles away, Ratchet could see the rampaging titan, and his heart sank. What had happened to Clank and Sasha? Sasha would be in the town hall, and Clank in their downtown offices. They had no chance of surviving the monster's attack, and Ratchet knew that he would have to rescue them.

He dashed into the workshop's back room and rummaged through his weapons rack. Ever since his retirement, he had sold most of his weapons, keeping only his wrench and a few guns. Eventually, he selected an old, rusty Tesla Claw, and strapping his wrench to his back, he ran out into the streets. He knew he was running out of time – the monster was growing ever larger in the distance, leaving a trail of wreckage in its wake.

Metropolis was almost nothing by now. Once-mighty skyscrapers had been crumbled to dust in the monster's grasp. Mangled corpses lay everywhere, carpeting the ground. The beast's footsteps shook the ground like an earthquake, and its roar was terrible, reverberating through the sky and making it seem as if the whole of the planet was being shaken to pieces.

Ratchet knew he could never fight the monster. He would have to find shelter among the handful of buildings that were still standing, and pray that the monster didn't come for him. He scampered between the skyscrapers, and listened to the battle in the near distance. Once, he distinctly heard the monster bellow – clearly a cry of pain, unlike the angered roar he had heard previously. Perhaps there was hope that the monster would die or go away after all.

Eventually, in the rubble of a ruined office tower, Ratchet caught sight of a glint of metal. He hurried toward it, and there was Clank.

The little robot was a sorry sight. Clearly caught in the tower when the monster had attacked, Clank's left arm hung by a few frayed wires that were sparking dangerously, and his right arm was trapped under a girder. Both of his legs had been blown away, and his storage tray was hanging wide open, so Ratchet could see all of his internal mechanisms that clearly no longer worked. A buckled propeller jutted from his head.

"Clank?" Ratchet touched the robot's body, looking desperately for signs of life. At this, the metal eyelids flickered open, and one was illuminated with a faint green glow. The other socket was empty.

"Tried… to fly… caught when… thing… hit…" Clank croaked, forcing the words out desperately. "Leave… me…"

"No!" Ratchet shouted, trying to shove the girder aside and rescue his friend's trapped arm. "We can take you off this planet. We can get you fixed…"

"No… won't… make it…" At this, the green glow came off, but after a few seconds it began to flicker on again, and flashed on and off as Ratchet kept trying to push the heavy girder away.

As Ratchet was doing this, the monster came up behind them. For such a heavy beast that had made such an earthquake as it walked, it was moving surprisingly quietly now. Ratchet didn't notice. He'd just managed to get the girder off Clank's arm, and had picked up his friend and was cradling him in his arms. He turned around, and the monster put its terrible face right up to Ratchet's. Ratchet let off a bolt of electricity, but the monster, which laughed, swallowed it up.

"MY MASTER WILL SEE YOU NOW," it intoned in an oddly echoing voice. At this, it picked up Ratchet and the feebly writhing form of Clank. A black hole opened in its belly, and it shoved the two in.

Ratchet barely had time to scream before the dark light devoured him.

Author's note: Is it good? Please review, thanks! (This is my first fic, so go easy on me, OK! )

Next chapter: Ratchet and Clank enter a brave new world…


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